Montgomery Aims to Make SPC Center for Excellence in Teaching, Counselor Preparation

Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 [10:22 PM]

School of Professional Counseling Associate Dean Jacquelyn
Montgomery wants the
school to be known in the mental health profession as a center for
excellence in
teaching and in counselor
preparation.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Jacquelyn Montgomery wants the
Lindsey Wilson College School of Professional Counseling to be
known in the mental health profession as a center for excellence in
teaching and in counselor preparation.

With undergraduate and graduate programs at 27 community
campuses in five states, LWC's nationally accredited School of Professional Counseling has a
"phenomenal" opportunity to make a difference in the profession and
in the communities it serves, according to Montgomery, who has been
named associate dean for the school.

"I would like to assist in building the School of Professional
Counseling so that it becomes known as a center of excellence in
teaching and a model of excellence in counselor
preparation," Montgomery said. "The opportunity to have that level
of true excellence at 27 sites and in five states is
phenomenal."

Before being named to lead the LWC School of Professional
Counseling, Montgomery was an
assistant professor in the school and also served as an
administrator that dealt with compliance for the school.

Created in 2006, LWC's School of Professional Counseling has 37
full time faculty members who work with 900 undergraduate and
graduate students at 27 sites. In addition to students on
LWC's A.P. White Campus in Columbia, SPC faculty work with students
at 26 community campuses in Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and
West Virginia. Most of the students who attend SPC classes at the
community campuses are non-traditional students, and many of them
come to LWC from a local community college.

Students earn either a bachelor of arts degree in human services
and counseling or a master of education degree in counseling and
human development that prepares them for a career in the
helping professions and in mental health care. Students who
earn a master's degree can become licensed professional
counselors.

"For the students, it's a seamless process because they are
enrolled as community college students as well as Lindsey Wilson
students, so they get tremendous resources while living and working
in their home community," Montgomery said. "And they walk out with
a four-year degree and/or a master's degree, which prepares them
for an exciting career of serving others."

For many of the LWC students, earning a bachelor's or a master's
degree often means going from two minimum-wage jobs to
one full-time job in the mental-health profession, Montgomery
said.

"We've had students hold down two jobs while in the program,"
she said. "So the fact that they can leave two jobs for one
well-paying job that allows them to do what they are passionate
about is a testimonial to the power of education."

By building on the solid foundation established over the last
nine years, Montgomery says the LWC School of Professional
Counseling can become known as a center and model for
excellence in teaching and in counselor preparation.

"SPC has enormous resources in terms of faculty and staff with a
diverse range of expertise, so we are extremely blessed to have
that kind of strength and that kind of passion among our faculty
and staff," she said. "We also have tremendous support from the
Lindsey Wilson administration, so that is a perfect combination for
fantastic things for the college."